1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device searching method, a device searching client, a device, a device searching server, a device searching system, and a device searching apparatus for searching a device connected to a network and to a storage medium in which a control program for controlling them has been stored.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, as a method of efficiently searching and using various resources (printer, server, scanner, and the like) on a network, a method called a directory service has been proposed.
The directory service is a so-called telephone directory regarding a network and used to store various information. As a specific example of the directory system, for example, there is an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol). The regulation of the LDAP has been disclosed in RFC (Request for Comments) 1777 issued by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). As a description, for example, “LDAP Internet Directory Application Programming” has been issued by Prentice Hall in Nov. 1, 1997.
A list of network addresses of the device which can be used on the network can be obtained by, for example, searching a device connected to the network by using the directory service.
In the above conventional technique, however, in case of a network printer, for example, as a device, at the time of searching it, various attributes regarding a static ability of a printer main body such as presence or absence of a stapling function, presence or absence of support of a double/single printing, and the like are designated and the device is searched. In case of actually printing, there is such a problem that a leakage occurs in search conditions which are changed every printing matter (print job) and are peculiar to a printing matter (print job) such that 100 or more sheets of papers need to be set on the printer main body side in order to print 100 pages, so that in spite of the fact that the device was searched and the printer was specified, the printing cannot be performed because the printing operation is actually stopped during the operation or the like.